Revolutionizing Watches in India

Timex has set standards of high quality watch-making through excellent technology and innovative product development, Mr.V.D Wadhwa, Managing Director, Timex Group India Ltd. shares his knowledge of the brand in the country with Retailer.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is your strategy behind launching Helix?

VD Wadhwa (VW): Helix is a brand that reflects aspirations and desire of today’s youth who wish to fly high. This collection is in sync with the latest fashion trends and is the perfect match for the hip and happening youngsters. We have launched Helix globally 1^st in India, as we believe the market for young earning consumers in the country is quite humongous. The collection incorporates state-of-the-art technology and precise engineering, which are hallmarks of Timex. We believe the ever changing needs of the youngsters will catch the eyes of Helix. Initially watches will be available in top 8 cities in the country, we have launched 30 styles at the moment, within the next 2 months we will be launched further 70 styles for the brand, which totals up to 100 for Helix.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for Helix?

VW: As, Helix is a brand for the youth, we would like to complement their interests and attitude, nowadays youngsters are well aware of the happening around them, and also keep themselves updated to the world thanks to the tech-savvy culture rising in the country, so keeping all this in mind, our primary focus will be to attract buyers, through various outdoor activities, BTL set-up in outlets, and emphasizing highly on the digital side of marketing primarily through internet( Facebook, Twitter etc.)

AS: Do you have your manufacturing units in the country? What is your production capacity?

VW: We have our production unit in Badli; our capacity in terms of annual production is 2.4 million watches. For Helix, we plan to manufacture 1 lakh units for the 1^st year, making it available across outlets like Metro, and other MBO’s.

AS: What sort of role does designing play in your product development?

VW: Designing has always been an essential ingredient of our brands, be it the young and zingy Helix, or the elegant and luxurious Versace or Ecko for that matter, we have our Global Design Centre based out of Milan, and under the supervision of Giorgio Galli, our product designer, we have accomplished, the most complicated product design executions with ease. We will continue to experiment with our design patterns without compromising on the trends that have been set in the market.

AS: How many stores do you have in India?

VW: We have 4000 point of sales in the country. For Helix, we will have 100 point of sales initially but we expect to reach 500 point of sales by ’12. Our strategy is to launch new collection every quarter, so considering that, we believe, we are well and truly on our way to expand our brand portfolio further in the near future.

AS: What is the positioning of Timex in the country?

VW: Timex has a market share of 11% in the country. Our biggest competitor for Helix is Fast Track from Titan. We understand the organized sector constitutes 60% and the unorganized is assessed at around 40%, there is a definite potential in this segment, and we hope to utilize the optimum out of it. We have 8 brands in our portfolio, varying from the elegant Versace, Ecko to the more conventional Guess, Nautica etc.

AS: What has been your turnover for the year? Your future projections for Timex?

VW: We have been growing at a consistent 30% year-on-year basis, last year had accumulated Rs.135cr, and we hope to have improved on those figures for this year. We plan to grow at 30% y-o-y basis for the next 3 years.